The loonie is sliding after Canada's dismal retail sales report

The Canadian dollar, also known as "the loonie," is sliding off a two-month high after Friday's dismal retail sales report.

December retail sales fell 2.2% month-over-month, worse than the 0.9% that was forecast by the Bloomberg consensus.

The reading was the worst since April 2010 when sales also fell 2.2%. Additionally, consumer price data in Canada was also released Friday morning, indicating a 2% year-over-year increase against an expected 1.8% gain.

Early selling that coincided with lower oil prices pressured the loonie to around 1.3780 per dollar. After the retail sales number, the loonie extended its losses, and now trades off 0.8% near 1.3830 versus the greenback.

The Canadian dollar needs to fall to almost 1.4600 per dollar to hit its worst level since 2003.